


Everything's Alright

by Snappy



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-11
Updated: 2015-10-11
Packaged: 2018-04-25 20:21:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4975180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Snappy/pseuds/Snappy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>34 is slowly dying, and there's nothing Beck can do for him this time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Everything's Alright

**Author's Note:**

  * For [inactive_pseud_sorry](https://archiveofourown.org/users/inactive_pseud_sorry/gifts).



> let me die  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkvVr6n1cGk

34 wakes up to tubes in his chest and mind-numbing pain every time his lungs expand to take a breath. A soft, pathetic whine slips from his lips as he looks down at his chest--a fresh row of mattress stitches, lined right down his sternum. Ah, so he'd been under the knife again.  
  
It hurts.

Immediately, he begins to cry. His chest feels five times bigger than it should be and every time he breathes it feels as if his ribs are breaking apart from each other. His cheeks are wet with tears and the hiccupping, dry heaving sobs shake his frail frame. It stretches the skin on his chest, tugging against the fresh incision, amplifying the ache even more. 34's oxygen mask fogs up with each sharp exhale and he hears his heart rate increase on the EKG machine.  
  
"Shh, it's okay 34. I'm here, it's alright."  
  
He stops weeping for a moment when he hears the sweet, melodic tone of Beck's voice. 34 feels a weight lifted off him as he realizes Beck is sitting off to the side of his bed. They're hunched over in a chair, sitting with solemn body language. But they're here, it's alright. _It's alright,_ he thinks, and feels their soft, ungloved hand wipe away the tears on 34's face. They cup his cheek and let their hand linger for a moment, petting his forehead in slow, relaxing strokes. 34 almost forgets about the pain in his chest until he starts coughing, causing his ribcage to seize and spasm in a sudden flurry of pain.  
  
"B-Beh-! B-Beh, a-aug...hh-hur-t!" 34 wheezes out between coughs.  
  
Beck doesn't waste a second. They squeeze 34's hand and help him through it. "Deep breaths, 34, it's okay, just breathe."  
  
The fit eventually passes, leaving 34 pressed limp against the bed, crying yet again with wet, bloodshot eyes. With each sob, his breath hitches and his chest heaves, something Beck knows _must_ be painful in his current condition. Normal respirations hurt after splitting the sternum like that, and Beck doesn't even want to imagine what it must be like with more violent motions.  
  
"Shh, shhh, don't cry, 34. I know it hurts. I _know,_ "  
  
They pause. Beck _doesn't_ know, in all actuality. Yes, they've been in the hospital many times before for allergic reactions, but they've never had to undergo something this intensive. They can only reach out in sympathy for right now. Hopefully that would be enough.  
  
34 tries to regain control of his breathing, wincing in pain every time his chest moves. "H-Hurt..." he whispers weakly.  
  
"It's okay. I'm right here. I'm so sorry, 34. There isn't anything else I can do for the pain."   
  
A few minutes pass in relative silence before 34 speaks up. "B-Beh cut?" he asks, voice weak and shaky.  Beck shakes their head no before gently brushing a stray hair behind 34's ear.  
  
"No, 34, I didn't operate this time. I didn't have any say in this procedure," they say, and pause for a moment, thinking. "I wouldn't open you up like this unless it was absolutely necessary.   
  
_"Your mouse is on its' last legs, Beck. Why the hell have you grown so attached?"_  
_"Is Allinger's kid getting soft all of a sudden?"_  
_"Just dump this one and move on to the next batch. You're wasting money."_  
  
Beck closes their eyes and forces the thoughts out.  _They're wrong_. 34 is worth whatever it takes. He's worth the world and more.  
  
"F-Foo...d?" 34 asks, and Beck snaps back to reality. Their face brightens, this is a good sign. If 34 felt well enough to eat this soon after surgery, then things might recover well after all. Still, it had barely been twelve hours. 34 could barely breathe without pain, Beck doesn't want to imagine what eating would do to his chest.  
  
"No, 34, I'm sorry. You can't eat so soon after your surgery yet. No water, either. You'll probably be on intravenous fluids and nutrition for a couple of days, and then we'll move to the nasogastric tube." Beck explains, speaking slowly enough for 34 to process. 34 is fine with not eating for a bit, but when Beck mentions the tube, his nose wrinkles in distaste. He doesn't like the tube—it makes his throat itch and Beck gets upset when 34 tries to pull it out. He scowls in response.  
  
"I know you don't like it, but we're going to have to. Not for now, though," Beck says, gesturing to one of his many IV bags. "Still a couple of days before we have to do that." They give a halfhearted smile and squeeze 34's hand. Another few minutes of calm silence between the two of them before 34 starts becoming restless, squirming slightly in his bed. Beck immediately stands and places a reassuring hand on his shoulder, urging him still.  
  
"Dont try to move right now okay? Your ribs wont like you very much for that. The best thing you need right now is sleep, okay?" they say, speaking slow and soft. They want to reassure 34 into following directions, not force him, and a kind outlook will do exactly that. 34 settles down before long. A yawn slips through the lab boy's lips, his face contorting in pain as the deep inhale stretches his abdomen.  
  
"The sooner you go to sleep the quicker you won't have to worry about it hurting. Here, I have the lights the lowest they can go and I can get another blanket if I need to. Do you want one?" 34 nods yes, as Beck expected, and they walk to the linen closet to grab the fluffiest one they can find. 34 snuggles tighter underneath the sheets and Beck carefully drapes the new blanket on top, tucking him in nicely.   
  
"Okay 34, don't try to move, remember? If something need adjusting, don't try to do it yourself, just wake me up, I'll be right here. I'm not leaving. ...will you be okay getting to sleep on your iwn? Or do you want some help?"  
  
If it were any other situoaton, 34 would deny drugs. But now, he hurts, and all he wants is to stop hurting. "...h-hep." Beck nods and walks towards the cabinet, pulling out a hypodermic and a vial of medicine, carefully filling the syringe and flicking the air out. Beck takes hold of 34's hand and gently slides the needle into his cannula, emptying the contents into his veins.  
  
"It's just a small dose, so you might wake up later. I'll be here if you do," they whisper, dropping the needle into biohazard waste and sitting back next to 34 once again. They hold each other's hands while waiting for the medicine to kick in.  
  
"...Sing me," 34 asks, his voice so small and quiet it's nearly drowned out by the droning machines surrounding them. He's already pretty out of it, the sedative having taken quick effect, but 34 had been spoiled. Beck sang to him only once before to calm him down before bedtime, and now the boy feels entitled to it whenever he chooses.   
  
"When this world is no more, the moon is all we'll see," they start. Their voice is cracked and in the wrong key, but they know 34 doesn't care about that. His hand tightens around Beck's, smiling softly. "I'll ask you to fly away with me," they continue, fixing their pitch somewhat from the first measure. "Until the stars all fall down, they empty from the sky." 34's eyes close, his breathing pained but steadier. Beck tucks a stray lock of hair out of the way and adjusts his oxygen mask to fit more securely on his face. "But I don't mind, when you're with me..."  
  
Beck looks up at his vitals as 34's eyes flutter. They're lower than usual, and they've been steadily going down the past few months. Everything Beck tried has had no effect on bettering 34's rapidly deteriorating health. His cherished light was flickering out, and all they could do was prepare for the inevitable.

It hurts.  
  
"When you're with me, then everything's alright."


End file.
